On September 1, Canada removed the counter-tariffs it had imposed in March on roughly $30 billion of U.S. goods that comply with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, while keeping its counter-tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum and automobiles. For Alberta importers, manufacturers and contractors, the change is meaningful but partial. The cost of many U.S.-sourced inputs has fallen back to pre-dispute levels, yet the metals that underpin construction, fabrication and equipment remain expensive, and the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum have stood at 50% since June.

The timing coincides with two other developments Alberta businesses are watching. The federal Major Projects Office, created under the Building Canada Act to accelerate national-interest projects, was formed on August 29 and is based in Calgary. And the Bank of Canada, which has held its policy rate at 2.75% since March, makes its next announcement on September 17.

The practical question for owners is not whether the trade dispute is over, since it is not, but how to manage cash flow and financing through a period in which some input costs have normalized and others have not. This article looks at what changed, what did not, and the financing tools that help a tariff-exposed business protect its margins and its liquidity.

Key Takeaways

• Canada’s counter-tariffs on CUSMA-compliant U.S. goods ended September 1, but those on U.S. steel, aluminum and autos remain
• U.S. Section 232 tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum have been 50% since June, keeping metals costs elevated on both sides of the border
• Inventory and purchase-order financing can bridge the gap between paying for tariffed inputs and collecting from customers
• Pricing and escalation clauses in customer contracts are the most direct way to share tariff risk
• Lenders respond well to businesses that bring scenario analysis and a diversified supplier base to the conversation

What Changed on September 1

Canada’s counter-tariffs were introduced in stages. A 25% tariff on approximately $30 billion of U.S. goods took effect on March 4, the same day the U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods came into force. Counter-tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum products followed on March 13, and on U.S. motor vehicles on April 9.

The September 1 decision removed the first of those layers for goods that meet CUSMA rules of origin. For an Alberta distributor importing U.S.-made consumer products, or a manufacturer buying components from a U.S. supplier that can certify origin, the tariff cost that had been embedded in prices since March has been lifted. This restores the pre-dispute cost base for a large share of cross-border trade and reduces the administrative burden of tariff classification and remission claims.

The relief is conditional on compliance, however. Goods that do not meet CUSMA rules of origin, including many products assembled in the United States from non-North American components, may still attract tariffs. Owners should work with their customs brokers to verify certification for each supplier and product line, because the difference between a compliant and a non-compliant classification is now the difference between a tariff and no tariff.

What Did Not Change: Steel, Aluminum and Autos

The counter-tariffs on U.S. steel, aluminum and automobiles remain in place, and they mirror the U.S. measures that prompted them. The United States imposed Section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel and aluminum on March 12 and raised them to 50% in June. For Alberta fabricators, contractors, equipment manufacturers and oilfield-service companies, this means metals pricing remains elevated in both directions: Canadian steel sold into the United States faces a punitive tariff, and U.S. steel bought into Canada still carries the counter-tariff.

The consequences flow through the construction and industrial supply chain. Structural steel, rebar, pipe, aluminum extrusions and fabricated components cost more than they did a year ago, and the higher cost is landing on projects that were bid before the tariffs existed. Contractors working under fixed-price agreements are absorbing the difference, and subcontractors further down the chain often have the least ability to pass it on.

Automobile tariffs affect Alberta more indirectly, through fleet costs and the price of trucks and service vehicles, but they matter to any business that operates a large fleet. Financing fleet purchases at today’s prices requires a clear-eyed assessment of whether the tariff premium will persist through the life of the asset.

The Major Projects Office and Alberta’s Construction Pipeline

The Building Canada Act, passed in June, gives the federal government a mechanism to fast-track projects it designates as being in the national interest. The Major Projects Office, formed on August 29 and based in Calgary, is the body charged with administering that process. Its location in Alberta signals that the province’s energy, infrastructure and export projects are expected to feature prominently.

For contractors, fabricators and suppliers, the office’s creation is a reason for cautious optimism rather than immediate action. Fast-tracked approvals shorten the wait before construction, but they do not lower the price of steel or change the fact that major projects consume large volumes of tariffed material. Businesses hoping to participate in this pipeline of work should be building the financial capacity to carry larger contracts, longer payment cycles and more expensive inventory.

Three Financing Levers for Tariff-Exposed Businesses

Inventory and Purchase-Order Financing

Tariffs are paid at the border, long before a business collects from its customer. That gap is the core cash-flow problem. Inventory financing, whether through an expanded operating line, an asset-based facility sized against a borrowing base, or a purchase-order financing arrangement for specific large orders, allows a business to fund the landed cost of goods without draining working capital. Lenders will want to see that inventory turns, that the goods are saleable and that the borrower is not simply stockpiling in anticipation of further tariff changes.

Pricing and Escalation Clauses

The most direct protection against input-cost volatility is contractual. Escalation clauses that tie contract prices to a published metals index, tariff pass-through provisions that allow the seller to recover new duties imposed after signing, and shorter quote validity periods all shift risk toward the party best able to bear it. Contractors bidding on new work should treat these clauses as standard, and existing agreements should be reviewed with legal advisors to determine whether any change-in-law or force majeure provisions apply to tariff measures.

Supplier Diversification and Currency

Businesses that depend on a single U.S. supplier for a critical input have learned this year that concentration is a financing risk, not only an operational one. Qualifying an alternative Canadian or overseas supplier, even at a modest cost premium, gives a business options when tariff conditions change and demonstrates resilience to lenders. Currency exposure deserves the same attention: most tariffed inputs are priced in U.S. dollars, and hedging programs arranged through a bank or with EDC’s support can stabilize the Canadian-dollar cost of committed purchases.

Talking to Your Lender Before September 17

The Bank of Canada’s policy rate has been at 2.75% since March, following seven consecutive cuts from the 5.00% peak, and the Bank has held at each of its three announcements since then. Whatever it decides on September 17, borrowing costs are substantially lower than they were at the start of 2024, and lenders have room to support businesses that can show they understand their exposures. The best time to have that conversation is before a covenant is tested, not after.

Lenders respond to preparation. A business that arrives with a scenario analysis showing its margins and cash flow under different tariff assumptions, a list of its U.S.-sourced inputs and their CUSMA status, and a plan for supplier diversification is a far easier credit to approve. Government-supported options broaden the toolkit further: the Canada Small Business Financing Program, delivered through banks, ATB Financial and credit unions, provides up to $1.15 million per borrower for businesses with gross annual revenue of $10 million or less, and EDC and BDC offer programs aimed at trade-exposed companies.

Owners should also revisit covenant definitions. Tariff costs can distort inventory values, gross margins and working-capital ratios in ways that were not contemplated when facilities were negotiated. Asking a lender to adjust a covenant definition or reset a borrowing-base advance rate before a breach occurs is a sign of good management, and most lenders prefer it to a surprise.

Positioning for the Next Phase of the Trade Dispute

The September 1 change is a reminder that tariff policy moves in both directions and that a business plan built on any single assumption about trade conditions is fragile. The relief on CUSMA-compliant goods improves cash flow immediately for many Alberta businesses; the persistence of metals tariffs means that the pressure on fabricators, contractors and equipment buyers has not eased. Both facts should shape financing decisions for the remainder of the year.

The prudent approach is to lock in the benefits of the relief where they apply, by updating supplier certifications, revisiting pricing and reducing any inventory that was accumulated as a hedge, while maintaining the liquidity buffers and contractual protections built during the spring.

Alberta’s businesses have shown considerable resilience through a difficult year, and the combination of lower interest rates, targeted tariff relief and a federal commitment to accelerate major projects gives owners more to work with than they had in March. Managing cash flow through the remaining uncertainty is a matter of preparation, documentation and open communication with lenders, and the businesses that do those things well will be the ones positioned to grow when the trade picture finally settles.